Let me wish readers all the best for the festive season, and may you enjoy a safe, healthy, happy and prosperous new year. I look forward to the opportunity to work with Victorian State agencies again in 2003.

The ABS National Centre for Culture and Recreation Statistics (NCCRS) has launched a theme page on the ABS web site. The Culture and Recreation Theme Page is a valuable resource, providing information on culture and recreation statistical resources and contacts. Readers can select a topic of interest; such as music and the performing arts, or sport and leisure industries; and view details of ABS and some non-ABS articles and publications which contain statistics about that topic. The theme page also provides links to the Australian Culture and Leisure Classifications, Directory of Culture and Leisure Statistics, NCCRS newsletters and other web sites related to culture and recreation.

For further information contact Heather Latz on 08 8237 7484 or email nccrs@abs.gov.au.

The Directory of Culture and Leisure Statistics was released on the ABS web site on 13 August 2002. The key aims of the directory are to provide a quick and easy reference to ABS sources of culture and leisure data, and provide information about the extent of data available from each data collection. The details provided about each collection’s data items will assist users of culture and leisure data to determine whether a collection might meet their needs, and to prepare possible cross-tabulation specifications ready for discussion with ABS information consultants. Contact details are provided for each collection. Entries also provide information on the scope, frequency and history of a collection and the major publications that present data from the collection. The ABS developed this directory with financial assistance from the Cultural Ministers Council Statistics Working Group (CMCSWG) and the Recreation and Sport Industry Statistics Group (RSISG) of the Sport and Recreation Ministers’ Council.

At December 2001, Victoria had an estimated 4,854,100 people, which was a 1.3% increase over the previous year. Queensland had the highest growth rate (1.9%) followed by Western Australia (also with 1.3%). In 2001, net overseas migration boosted the population by 27,500. Natural increase (births minus deaths) added another 26,900. For the fourth year in a row more people arrived in Victoria than departed interstate, adding another 7,700 people to the population (net interstate migration).

In 2001, other key points about Victoria’s demographic make-up included:

58,600 registered births to mothers who normally live in Victoria.

The total fertility rate continued its long-term decline to 1.61 children per female, compared to the national rate of 1.73.

There were 32,300 registered deaths to people whose usual residence was Victoria.

The leading causes of death were malignant neoplasms (cancer) and heart disease.

Most couples who married had lived together before marriage. Of these, the majority (61%) were more likely to have a civil celebrant officiate their wedding. Of couples who didn’t live together before marriage, 71% had their wedding officiated by a minister of religion. There were 25,000 marriages in 2001, a 7% decrease on 2000.

The median age at marriage continued to rise and was 30.5 years for bridegrooms (28.3 in 1991) and 28.7 years for brides (26.1 in 1991).

13,700 divorces were granted - an 11% increase from the previous year.

Further details can be found in Demography Victoria, 2001 (cat. no. 3311.2).

Australian homes are adopting energy conservation measures to increase standards of living and reduce energy costs, rather than to produce environmental benefits according to a new survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Environmental Issues: People’s Views and Practices, Mar 2002 (cat. no 4602.0) showed the widespread penetration of some energy saving measures in Australian households was countered by a significant increase in the number and usage of energy reliant household appliances.

ABS Environment and Energy Statistics Director, Bob Harrison said in most cases cost was the main factor influencing the use of insulation, greenpower and the replacement of white goods. This survey focussed on some of the main determinants of energy use in the household, which have direct implications for greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and resource depletion. Some of the key findings follow.

There was an increase in the proportion of Australian dwellings surveyed with some form of insulation, from 52% in 1994 to 58% in 2002. Western Australia recorded the largest increase in the proportion of dwellings with some form of insulation between 1994 and 2002 (from 52% to 65%) followed by Queensland (from 29% to 36%).

Two in three hot water systems in Australia were powered by electricity, and approximately half of these utilised off-peak electricity. New South Wales recorded the highest proportion of households using off-peak electricity to power hot water systems (46%), followed by Queensland (37%) and South Australia (29%). Victoria had the highest proportion of dwellings using gas, with 73% of Victorian households using it for space heating and 67% for cooking and heating water.

Less than 3% of Australian homes surveyed used greenpower, which does not contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Solar energy is primarily used in Australia for heating water and was utilised by 4% of households, but was used in 53% of Northern Territory households and 16% of Western Australian households.

Almost 60% of Australian dwellings used fluorescent lights and 23% used energy saving lights in at least one room. The Australian Capital Territory had the highest proportion of households using energy saving lights (26%).

Of household appliances, air-conditioner and dishwasher numbers experienced the largest increase in Australian homes (16% and 10% respectively) over the period 1994 to 2002. The number of Australian households with computers also rose substantially from 45% in 1999 to 60% in 2002.

Tasmanians (11%) were the best in Australia at taking into account environmental considerations when buying or replacing white good appliances. South Australia had the highest proportion of households with suds saving aided washing machines, despite a decline from almost 60% in 1994 to 46% in 2002. Households in Queensland and the Northern Territory used cold water in their washing machines more than any other state (77% each).

The Victorian Statistical Advisory Committee (VSAC) met on 29 November 2002. The two main discussion items on the agenda were Dr Michael Kirby’s report on the Australian Statistical Advisory Council’s (ASAC) meeting held on 19 November 2002; and a report from ABS Regional Director, Mr Vince Lazzaro, that covered the ABS forward work program and developing National Statistical Service concept.

Dr Kirby’s ASAC report noted the pursuit of Information Development Plans (IDPs) by the ABS and advised members to follow the development of these plans. IDPs encompass policy drivers, existing data sources, data gaps and future need for investigation, for a given statistical theme. He mentioned agriculture, environment, science and technology and finance as specific IDPs that will be of interest.

Mr Lazzaro highlighted some of the key areas in which the ABS will invest resources as: Population Groups and Transitions, drawing together work being undertaken on various separate topics such as ageing and youth; the National Centre for Rural and Regional Statistics would continue to be funded and that work on income tax data would continue with a regional dimension; the Multi Purpose Household Survey (MPHS) would proceed, with the first cycle expected to be part of the Household Survey in 2004-2005.

Minutes of the meeting are available to state government through the abs@vicgov Consultancy Container, as are minutes of all consultancy groups.

In August 2002, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released a Discussion Paper in response to the needs of Australia’s policy makers to better understand the economic and social dynamics of knowledge-based activity. The paper proposes a framework and a range of indicators. The aim of the framework is to enable assessment, through use of relevant statistics, of the degree to which Australia is a knowledge-based economy and society. This framework is one of several produced recently by the ABS to simplify analysis of complicated topics. Such frameworks enable planners and policy makers to make better use of all of the available statistics and help the ABS to address gaps in data coverage.

The framework has five dimensions: context, innovation and entrepreneurship, human capital, information and communications technology, and economic and social impacts; and covers both the knowledge-based economy and knowledge-based society. This is to help policy makers to fully understand the social implications of issues. The ‘digital divide’ (between those who have and those who don’t have good Internet access) is an example of an issue which covers both areas. The term ‘knowledge-based economy’ was coined by the OECD and is defined as an economy which is ‘directly based on the production, distribution and use of knowledge and information’.

Research by the OECD and APEC has concluded that successful modern economies are more knowledge-intensive than ever and that the key to global competition is working smarter and making better use of skills and knowledge. As an example, the ABS estimates that nearly 40% of the Australian work force today are ‘knowledge workers’, compared with 33% in 1989.

The Discussion Paper: Measuring a Knowledge-based Economy and Society - An Australian Framework (cat. no. 1375.0) is available free of charge on the ABS web site. The ABS invites comment and discussion on this proposed new framework of data analysis. Like other ABS ‘framework’ papers, this paper does not present any actual data at this stage, although the HTML version on the web site contains extensive information on data sources for the proposed indicators. However, a complementary compilation of relevant data has recently been published by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, as Australia as a Modern Economy - Some Statistical Indicators, 2002. This publication presents much of the relevant data that is already publicly available, including comparisons with other countries and Australia’s past performance. A summary and full text are available on the ITR web site at http://www.industry.gov.au.

There is growing recognition worldwide that biotechnology offers many opportunities for economic and social benefit. However, there is currently little statistical information available to monitor the diffusion of biotechnology and assist with policy choices. The ABS has been participating in an OECD Working Group which is developing a set of internationally comparable biotechnology statistical indicators. This work has formed the basis for development of strategies for the collection of Australian biotechnology statistics. The ABS worked with a consultant to prepare papers specifying user requirements, international experiences and outlining various strategies. The strategies to be adopted are the collection of additional data in the existing R&D surveys and the conduct of a new biotechnology survey in 2003-04 (in respect of 2002-03). Development of this survey is underway.

The ABS has been working with the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DE&T) and the Victorian Curriculum Assessments Authority (VCAA) to improve the measurement of rates of educational attainment in Victoria. Two national measures of educational attainment were agreed to by all jurisdictions in 2000. The first measure is the proportion of 19 year olds who have successfully completed Year 12, or have gained a qualification at AQF Level 2 or higher (i.e. a Vocational Education and Training certificate that is roughly equivalent to Year 12). The second measure is the proportion of 24 year olds who have attained a qualification at AQF Level 3 or above (i.e. have attained a post-school qualification). State and national estimates of each of these measures are produced from the ABS Survey of Education and Work each year.

A shortcoming with using this sample survey is that the measures have been defined for a relatively small portion of the total Australian (or state) population. The first measure is estimated from survey data using the responses of only the 19 year olds in sample, and similarly an estimate of the second measure only uses the data reported by 24 year olds. This means that very few survey responses are being used to estimate attainment rates, and consequently that the final estimates are not very accurate. The estimates are subject to a high degree of sampling error, or variability, due to the small sample on which they are based. As a result, the estimates are not able to accurately identify real improvements (or otherwise) in attainment rates from year to year, nor can they be used with any confidence to identify real differences in attainment rates between States, or other demographic groupings.

ABS has been considering alternative options for producing more accurate measures of educational attainment, including the use of administrative data relating to the awarding of senior secondary school certificates of education. To assess the feasibility of using such administrative data, an ABS officer was outposted to DE&T and also worked closely with VCAA staff in examining records of successful completion of Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) for derivation of the age 19 attainment measure. This work showed that:

VCE administrative records can be a high quality source of statistical data. The listing is complete - it contains records for all VCEs issued by VCAA since the introduction of the VCE in 1990. Key data items such as school attended, whether VCE awarded, sex and date of birth are well maintained and of high quality.

VCE administrative data is a very timely source of information, with details of VCEs awarded and other relevant data finalised by early in the year following the reference year. For example, reliable estimates of VCE completions for 2001 are available in February or March 2002. This is six to nine months earlier than ABS survey estimates become available. Good quality administrative data supports estimates for smaller subpopulations, e.g. regional estimates.

Consequently, there is a lot of scope for administrative data on VCE attainment and similar data from other States to be used to improve estimates of educational attainment at age 19. However, there are also disadvantages to the use of administrative data, including:

cost of accessing administrative data and maintaining interrogation systems. Primarily, there will be an initial cost in assessing data quality of the administrative records in each jurisdiction (for a national measure of educational attainment), and in producing specifications and designing systems that will extract consistent data from each State, with the same data specifications used each year.

complexities in accounting for international and interstate migration. For example, to determine the Victorian measure of number of 19 year olds who have successfully completed Year 12 for 2002, we need to count people who were born in a specific 12 month range who were awarded VCE in 2001, or in 2000, or in 1999 and so on. It would be appropriate to add these counts and divide by the total population of 19 year olds in Victoria if nobody ever moved. However, our estimates have to account for people who gained the VCE in Victoria and now live interstate or overseas, as well as people who successfully completed Year 12 outside of Victoria, but are now resident in Victoria.

In addition to looking at the potential of administrative data, the ABS also examined other methods of improving the accuracy of estimation of attainment rates. It was found that accuracy could be significantly improved by using a greater amount of survey data than just age 19 and age 24 respondents. For example, the simplest option considered was to use an age group 19-24 as a proxy for the single age 19, and the age group 24-29 as a proxy for age 24. The draft report of ABS investigations is currently being considered internally by ABS and by DE&T. When finalised it will be provided to the Key Performance Measures subgroup that reports to the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA).

This work has also assisted DE&T in finding suitable methods of estimating the educational progress measures in Growing Victoria Together. While it has identified the limitations of using direct ABS survey estimates to demonstrate progress, there is great potential for producing highly accurate and timely estimates from administrative data holdings. An initial investment would be required to prepare suitable data specifications and to build a simple system to ensure that consistent estimates could be easily produced without relying on the skills of specific people who “know what to do”.

For more details on this project or other ABS outpostings, contact Terry Byrnes (ABS) on 03 9615 7457, Michael Ryan (DE&T) on 03 9637 3215, or email vic.coordination@abs.gov.au.

The development of a Sexual Assault Information Development Plan (IDP) is being undertaken by the ABS’s National Centre for Crime and Justice Statistics, a project funded by the Commonwealth Office of the Status of Women. The IDP provides a conceptual framework for sexual assault, identifies key policy issues and related information needs, lists data sources currently available and identifies gaps in the data.

Aimed at the health and community services sectors as well as crime and justice sectors, some strategies are proposed to fill gaps and improve the utilisation and comparability of data. It is anticipated that this work will be published as an ABS Information Paper in March 2003.

The project is being undertaken by Lyn Tucker who can be contacted on 03 9615 7883, or email lyn.tucker@abs.gov.au.

The GSS Dress Rehearsal was conducted in and around Melbourne from 23 October to 3 November, 2001. As a whole, the questions relating to the GSS items worked well, with the topics being well-received by respondents. Some supplementary surveys were also included in the GSS vehicle.

The survey was in the field from 4 March 2002 until 27 July 2002. No major problems arose during enumeration of approximately 15,000 households. Data is now being processed. A publication is due to be released in April 2003, with microdata available around June 2003.

The publication Salinity on Australian Farms, 2002 (cat no. 4615.0) released on 11 December 2002 presents first results of the Land Management and Salinity Survey which was conducted in May 2002 as a supplement to the 2001 Agricultural Census. It includes data on the extent of salinity; use of trees, crops, pastures and earthworks for salinity management; as well as factors influencing land management decisions on farms. Some Agricultural Census results have been included in this publication to provide contextual and other information, and Agricultural Census information is clearly identified where it is used.

The 2002 Land Management and Salinity Survey was mainly targeted at the reference population of farm establishments which answered yes to either or both questions in the 2001 Agricultural Census regarding having land affected by salinity or using salinity management strategies. The survey results in this publication are based on a sample of approximately 20,000 farm establishments and results have been weighted to cover the full reference population.

The 2002 Land Management and Salinity Survey collected information from farmers on the extent of land showing signs of salinity as well as strategies used by farmers to manage and prevent salinity. Farmer assessments of the extent of salinity may differ from assessments made by scientific means, but are an indication of the level of salinity occurring on farms that can be provided rapidly and cost-effectively. The 2002 Land Management and Salinity Survey also has the advantage that farm management activities can be assessed in the context of economic and other information collected by ABS and other agencies.

Main findings for Victoria:

Results show Victoria had 4,834 farms and 139,000 hectares of agricultural land showing signs of salinity. This represents 13.7% of the state’s farms and 1.1% of the state’s agricultural land. Some 3,260 (67.4%) of these 4,834 farms were non-irrigated farms, with an area of 90,000 ha of agricultural land showing signs of salinity.

60,000 hectares of agricultural land showing signs of salinity cannot be used for Agricultural production, which represents 0.5% of the state’s total agricultural land. Victoria also had 680,000 hectares of crops, pastures and fodder plants used for salinity management. It also had 40,000 hectares of land fenced from grazing, 37,000 km of earthworks (levees/banks and drains), and 40,000 ha of trees for salinity management or prevention of salinity.

Data is available for each State and regions identified in the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. It is also available by agricultural sector, irrigator/non-irrigator, estimated value of agricultural output (EVAO) and farm size. Additional results from the survey will be made available at a later date. The additional results will include further information and analysis.

If you are seeking more statistical data or wish to clarify any data issues in the publication, please contact Michael Vardon on 02 6252 7348 or email michael.vardon@abs.gov.au.

Current advice is that the Melbourne Social Atlas will be released on 7 February 2003. The maps offer a revealing insight into the geographic distribution of social characteristics around greater Melbourne.

This Social Atlas is one of a series of atlases of Australian capital cities. It contains maps illustrating a range of social, demographic and economic characteristics of the population of Melbourne; using data collected in the 2001 Census of Population and Housing. Topics include: unemployment, income, transport, single person households (HH), single parent HHs, couple with dependent children HHs, double income - no kids HHs, home ownership, rental and home internet use. A commentary accompanying each map briefly analyses these characteristics and highlights the main features.

The region mapped contains contiguous Collection Districts (CDs). Topics are mapped by CD, which are the smallest geographic areas used for collection and dissemination of Census data. In towns and cities there are usually between 200 to 300 dwellings in each CD, and where possible they have easily identified boundaries such as streets and waterways.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released an atlas which illustrates the death rates experienced in different regions of Australia, for a range of major causes of death. The information in the atlas is based on more than half a million (512,945) registered deaths in Australia from 1997 to 2000 inclusive.

Mortality Atlas Australia contains 63 maps presenting death rates for selected leading causes of death within Australia, and other causes of particular interest to the Australian community such as intentional self-harm and motor vehicle traffic accidents. The two leading causes, heart disease and cancer, are presented at Statistical Subdivision geographic level with capital city enlargements. Other causes are presented at Statistical Division geographic level. Some simple analysis accompanies the maps. The Mortality Atlas also includes a set of tables which present the death rates for each of the causes highlighted.

This atlas presents standardised death rates for both underlying and multiple causes of death, calculated on four years of aggregated data (deaths for years 1997 to 2000) classified to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems Tenth Revision (ICD-10).

The maps show that remote areas of Australia experienced higher death rates than more densely populated areas for cancer, diabetes mellitus, and several other major leading causes. Remote areas of Northern Territory recorded the highest average annual rates of death for malignant neoplasms (cancer), ischaemic heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, chronic lower respiratory diseases, influenza and pneumonia; while Kimberley in Western Australia had the highest death rates for accidents, diabetes mellitus and intentional self-harm (suicide).

Death rates by gender show males have higher levels of death in most of the main causes of death. Health services planners, demographers, researchers and social geographers in government and private organisations will find the atlas a very valuable resource for understanding relationships between cause of death and location. The Atlas complements the detailed Cause of Death data published annually by the ABS.

Further details are available in Mortality Atlas Australia (cat. no. 3318.0). For further information contact Peter Burke on 07 3222 6069 or email peter.burke@abs.gov.au.

Release of Voluntary Work 2000 Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF)

Voluntary work plays a very important role in meeting needs within the community and helping to develop and reinforce social networks and cohesion. In the Survey of Voluntary Work conducted throughout Australia in 2000, the ABS collected data on what kinds of people volunteer and the varied activities they undertake, among other things. Interesting information from the survey includes differences in the kinds of organisations men and women volunteer for and the different levels of volunteering across states and territories and between big cities and regional Australia. The Voluntary Work 2000 CURF, released on 26 June 2002, allows detailed examination of voluntary work within Australia.

CDATA 2001 is an information solution developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and MapInfo Australia. The CD-ROM product combines the credibility of 2001 Census data, with powerful mapping software, so that you can have Australian demographic data at your finger-tips. It allows you to access the latest figures on Australian society - age, education, housing, income, transport, ethnicity, occupation, making up a series of Basic Community Profiles. This valuable information is available for small areas (Collection Districts) through to completes state and total Australia. CDATA 2001 also contains the digital boundaries used for the census collection, with underlying basic topography such as major roads and rivers. These features allow you to visually display the census data in themed reports, maps and graphs.

The first release of CDATA 2001 was on 26 September 2002. This release contains the Basic Community Profile Tables 1-21, and the Time Series Community Profile for 1991 and 1996 (based on 2001 SLA Boundaries). The second release of CDATA 2001 is scheduled for the first half of 2003 (final date yet to be confirmed). This will contain the full Basic Community Profile (Tables 1-33), Time Series Community Profile (1991, 1996 and 2001), additional boundaries (urban centres and localities) and interface software for the other Community Profiles (Indigenous, Expanded, Usual Residents and Working Population) and SEIFA 2001. These profiles will be produced to allow for seamless integration with the CDATA 2001 Product.

ABS is conducting introductory and advanced CDATA 2001 training courses. A new schedule of courses and associated course fees for 2003 will be advised to all Victorian State and Local Government CDATA 2001 purchasers in January 2003. ABS also runs an “Understanding 2001 Census Data” course, which focusses on how to correctly interpret Census data. It was very well received by the first course attendees in December 2002, and the next course is scheduled for late January 2003.

Second release Census data includes industry, occupation, qualifications, level of education, labour force status, method of travel to work, number of motor vehicles (including motor bikes), family and household income. This data was released on 19 November 2002 in the Basic Community Profile and Indigenous Community Profiles. The second release Basic Community Profile Tables were made available to all CDATA 2001 purchasers through Census Basics Release Two, on 19 November 2002. Census Basics provided the tables both via an Excel Viewer, or in .csv format with the boundaries in mid/mif format.

The second release 2001 Census data was also available only for Customised Census Tables from September 2002. 2001 Census Customised Tables provide the facility for clients to choose their own selected combination of Census variables and geography (using the 2001 Census Dictionary). Customised Tables are used for specialised research and planning where the standard Community Profile series do not meet data needs.

You are invited to contact the ABS Client Manager for State Government, contact Heather Burns on 03 9615 7976 or email heather.burns@abs.gov.au if you have any queries about CDATA, Census data or training.

Education and training indicators, Australia (cat. no. 4230.0) is a new biennial publication from the National Centre for Education and Training Statistics within the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). It presents summary statistics and commentary, using national level data, from a wide range of both ABS and non-ABS sources. The publication includes 38 two-page Topics, grouped according to the structure of the recently developed framework for education and training statistics - Measuring learning in Australia: a framework for education and training statistics (an overview of which can be found in the Appendix). The Topics cover providers of education and training, human and financial resources, participation, outputs and outcomes, and also the context in which education and training takes place.

The sources of data are outlined in the publication. In addition, there is an introductory Chapter outlining the structure of education and training in Australia, and a section with some related international statistics. State/territory level data may be available for some of the Topics covered in this publication.

VSAC is the major forum for statistical liaison between Victorian Government Agencies and the ABS. Dr Michael Kirby from the Department of Treasury and Finance chairs VSAC and is also State representative on the Australian Statistics Advisory Council (ASAC). At the time of publication, restructuring within Victorian State Departments may cause some change to representation. A list of representatives will be published in the next edition of Statistics Victoria. For further information about VSAC please contact Terry Byrnes on 03 9615 7860 or email t.byrnes@abs.gov.au.

To notify a change of email address, or to add a new contact to our mail-out list, please forward details to the editor: alan.page@abs.gov.au.

We want your contribution!

The ABS encourages state government agencies to fully utilise the facility of the Statistics Victoria newsletter to promote any statistical developments or activities and, where appropriate, products and services. Articles for consideration should, in the first instance, be forwarded through the relevant VSAC representative (see above).